When it comes to achieving your goals, it’s important to know what you have power in and what you don’t.
There are many times in our life that we know we need to make a change. Starting a business, changing careers, losing weight, the list goes on.
We set goals and work toward them regardless of the change. And there is some improvement for a while. Then we begin to slip, and before we know it, we’ve returned to where we started.
This occurs on a regular basis. The problem isn’t that people lack self-motivation or willpower. The primary reason why so many people fail to achieve their goals is that they believe goal achievement is a conscious brain function, when in reality goal setting is conscious and goal achievement is subconscious.
Goal-setting and goal-attainment abilities are mastered by successful people. Interacting with people who have “made it” can reveal patterns that everyone can apply.
How to Achieve Your Goals?
Here are 8 Master steps to achieving your goals:
1. Write out goals in detail
The act of simply writing down goals begins the process and provokes emotion, which is crucial to activating a new belief system—so also be very specific.
Instead of writing “A new house,” write, “I am loving a 5,000-square-foot home on three acres of beachfront property with marble floors, five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a yacht port.” The more detailed the information, the more you will associate yourself with the probability of the outcome. By being emotionally detailed, you can activate your subconscious brain to work as well as possible for you. After all, the brain is the most powerful weapon in the world.
2. Be Specific
The first and most important step is to establish a clear goal. When setting goals, most people use generalities. They want to lose weight, exercise more, get healthy, be happier, or read more books. All of these are noble but vague goals with a slight chance of success.
When setting goals, be specific and realistic.
- Just what you want to do (lose 19 pounds)
- When you want to do that (by July 1)
- What steps you can take to get there (low carb diet, etc.)
Creating specific steps raises the chances of success dramatically.
3. Every goal must have two things
To accomplish your goal, you must first have a detailed plan (conscious brain). And then you must have the right beliefs and mindset (subconscious brain). It is the balance of both of these that can help you reach your goals rather than just setting goals.
Consider meditation, just 5-10 minutes a day of focusing on your intended goals, to get your subconscious brain working for you. When you imagine, you create a vivid mental image of what you will be thinking, doing, seeing, and experiencing having accomplished your goals. Finally, saying positive affirmations out loud every day “as if they are already true” will help to override the subconscious brain’s old defaults. All of these methods, individually or in combination, will help you in rewriting your old beliefs into new ways of thinking that are in alignment with your goals.
4. Track and Measure Your Goal
Monitoring and measuring your success on a regular basis helps you to stay focused. It also allows you to celebrate your successes and get back on track if you get off track. Keep a visual image of your progress in high visibility whenever possible to keep your goal in mind and to keep you focused on going ahead.
Here are a few easy ways to visualize your progress:
- Enter the data into a spreadsheet, and make a graph out of that data.
- Write your numbers on a whiteboard.
- If you have a visual goal, such as losing weight or building muscle, you can easily record pictures or videos of yourself.
The target is to regularly engage in collecting and reflecting on evidence of success.
5. Set A Deadline
Hard and fast deadlines can boost your progress and help create a sense of urgency in any goal. A deadline can also assist you in understanding how much incremental progress you need to make each day or week as you progress. For example, if you wish to lose 30 pounds in six months, you must lose 5 pounds per month, or slightly more than a pound per week. If you do have this information, you can monitor your progress towards your deadline each week. However, don’t overuse this tip so your mind can resist false deadlines. How can you keep on schedule to reach a deadline?
- Countdown apps make it easy to choose a future date and start the countdown.
- Crossing off days on a paper calendar serves as a powerful reminder of an approaching deadline.
6. Turn Your Goals Into Habits
Wherever possible, break down the large goals into short, easy-to-follow routines. Let’s say you plan to read 20 books in the coming year. There are some easy habits you can develop to make it easier to achieve this goal:
- Start the day by reading three pages of a book.
- On the way to work, listen to audiobooks (yes, today this counts as reading).
- Take part in a book club.
- Read a few pages of relaxing fiction at night to unwind.
When a goal becomes a habit, you begin to regret the moments when you are unable to indulge your habit. This is the power of habit. They make difficult goals an unmissable part of your everyday routine.
7. Get The Support Of Others
There will be several occasions where you feel like giving up. You’ve given up on your goal. Calling it quits or just cheating the system. This is very common. When we have to struggle against our ingrained habits, we all get exhausted and discouraged.
When we are weak, we need the help of others. We need people to inspire us and remind us not to give up. Say at least one or two close friends when you first set your goals. These CANNOT be friends who would sympathetically let you off the hook when you’re struggling.
They should be the kind of people who would encourage you to be the best version of yourself. They might also be competing with you.
8. Finally, don’t get discouraged
You will either achieve your goals as you imagined them or gain insights into what may be required to achieve your goals. This is not a setback; rather, it is information about what you should do more of, less of, or not at all. The realization is all part of your progress. Keep your focus on what you want to do, and you will find ways to fix problems or achieve goals. Celebrate each achievement and memorialize your achievements so that you can see how you are progressing toward and really achieving your goals. This promotes anchoring positive emotions, which are the glue that holds the subconscious together.
The Bottom Line
Accept that you will often achieve your goal and other times you will not. Embrace the times when you miss out as much as you do the times when you don’t. Both are learning experiences that can help you stay motivated.
When you find yourself straying from the path, reach out for help from friends, relatives, or colleagues. Allow yourself to vent and then get back up, making a new strategy, and encouraging yourself to pursue a new goal.
Remember Stephen Covey’s fundamental advice as you continue to take steps toward your goals: Begin with the end in mind.
